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Capital Region Chamber reports on community development program, cites vandalism, canal impacts and housing trends
Summary
Pete Bernonius of the Capital Region Chamber updated the committee on the chambercommunity development program, citing preservation wins, increased vandalism at historic sites, canal navigation issues affecting marinas, and planned outreach on housing trends and energy siting.
Pete Bernonius, representing the Capital Region Chamber, told the Saratoga County Economic Development Committee that the chamberfunded community development program is largely continuing into next year and that staff will submit a 2026 request to the county.
Bernonius reviewed program activity dating to the programstart in 2013 and described local projects the chamber helped seed, including preservation work in Mechanicville and outreach tied to the countyCanal towns. He said a sketch he submitted about the countycommunity development program was displayed in a Buffalo museum, which he offered as an anecdote about regional visibility.
Bernonius raised several operational concerns from recent months: he said vandalism has increased at historic sites the chamber helps maintain, citing repeated major vandalism at a local museum and increased vandalism at the Fisher Prairie Preserve; county resources were used to repair and secure sites ahead of a canal event in October. He also reported that invasive-species controls on the Champlain Canal have complicated navigation, leaving some marina businesses, including Lock 1 Marina and Shipyard in Waterford, with limited operations because of double-flushing requirements at the first locks.
On housing and energy, Bernonius said the chamber will host a discussion on why residents choose apartments over smaller single-family homes and townhouses; he framed the question as relevant to county planning, denser housing mandates from the state, and future siting for solar fields and electric buses. He also noted outreach and partnership efforts with local organizations, including coordinated displays at the Exit 9 rest area and integration with Saratoga 250 promotional efforts.
Bernonius named several regional partnerships and people working with the chamber: Nicolina Fodi (young farmer and member of the chamber's government affairs committee), Greg Connors and SEDC, and Heather McDaniel, newly hired as chief economic development officer at the Center for Economic Growth. He said the chamber will continue to focus on publicizing events and supporting town-level priorities.
Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions in the recorded transcript; Bernonius closed by saying the chamber will submit its 2026 plans and is available to help promote local initiatives.
